Adventures with Jaws. A
Behavioural Study of Great
White Sharks off the Coast of
South Africa
Justine Alford
A report prepared for the Lord Rootes Memorial
Fund trustees as partial fulfilment of conditions of a
Lord Rootes Memorial Fund award.
Submitted on 27.11.12
J.E.Alford@warwick.ac.uk
Contents
Acknowledgements...................................................................................................................1
Abstract.....................................................................................................................................2
CHAPTER 1
Introduction..............................................................................................................................3
CHAPTER 2
Chumming................................................................................................................................7
2.1 Data..........................................................................................................................8
2.2 Spotting....................................................................................................................9
2.3 Chumming................................................................................................................9
2.4 Photography...........................................................................................................11
2.4i Exposure....................................................................................................12
2.4ii Fin Direction............................................................................................12
2.4iii Submersion..............................................................................................13
2.4iv Obstructions............................................................................................13
2.4v Identification of Sharks............................................................................14
2.5 Baiting....................................................................................................................17
2.6 Some Chum Trip Stories........................................................................................19
CHAPTER 3
Fishing.....................................................................................................................................21
CHAPTER 4
Cage Diving.............................................................................................................................23
CHAPTER 5
Tracking..................................................................................................................................26
5.1 Tracker...................................................................................................................27
5.2 Skipper...................................................................................................................29
5.3 Data........................................................................................................................30
5.4 Our Tracking Trips.................................................................................................30
CHAPTER 6
Aquarium................................................................................................................................35
6.1 Benthic and Pelagic Shark Experiments................................................................35
6.2 Tagging...................................................................................................................37
6.3 Other Aquarium Duties..........................................................................................38
CHAPTER 7
Scuba Diving...........................................................................................................................39
7.1 Durban....................................................................................................................39
7.2 Cape Town.............................................................................................................46
CHAPTER 8
Cetacean Population and Behaviour Studies.......................................................................53
8.1 Vleesbaai................................................................................................................56
CHAPTER 9
Critique of Oceans Research.................................................................................................58
Summary.................................................................................................................................61
Personal Reflection.................................................................................................................62
Appendix.................................................................................................................................63
Budget..........................................................................................................................63
References....................................................................................................................64
Figures
Figure 1: White Shark Anatomy...............................................................................................1
Figure 2: Dorsal Fin with Satellite Tag.....................................................................................8
Figure 3: Chum and Chumming.........................................................................................10/11
Figure 4: Photographic Exposure............................................................................................12
Figure 5: Fin Direction............................................................................................................12
Figure 6: Fin Submersion........................................................................................................13
Figure 7: Photographic Obstructions.......................................................................................13
Figure 8: Photo Identification.................................................................................................14
Figure 9: Images Taken During Chumming Trips.............................................................14-16
Figure 10: The Bait..................................................................................................................17
Figure 11: Baiting....................................................................................................................18
Figure 12: A Fish Caught During a Fishing Trip....................................................................19
Figure 13: The Tag..................................................................................................................26
Figure 14: The Tracking Equipment.......................................................................................28
Figure 15: Skippering..............................................................................................................29
Figure 16: Cold During Tracking............................................................................................32
Figure 17: The Movements of 2 Great Whites...................................................................33-34
Figure 18: The Caves Built in the Laboratory........................................................................36
Figure 19: Tagging..................................................................................................................38
Figure 20: Ragged Tooth Sharks.......................................................................................39-40
Figure 21: Blacktip Sharks.................................................................................................44-45
Figure 22: Blue and Mako Sharks......................................................................................48-50
Figure 23: Kelp Beds...............................................................................................................50
Figure 24: Cow Sharks.......................................................................................................51-52
Figure 25: Whale Blow Identification.....................................................................................54
Figure 26: Bottlenose Dolphins...............................................................................................56
Figure 27: Vleesbaai................................................................................................................57
Acknowledgements
First and foremost, I would like to thank the Lord Rootes Memorial Fund committee for
granting me the opportunity to carry out this project. I applied for this funding more than
slightly sceptical about my success due to its unusual, and perhaps to some, unpopular nature.
Without this funding, carrying out this project would have only been a distant dream whilst
pipetting things in and out of tubes in the laboratory, and there is no simple way to express
just how grateful I am.
I would like to thank my supervisor, Emma Anderson, for allowing me the time off from my
PhD to allow me to do this, knowing how important it was for me and for encouraging me
every step of the way.
My family and friends also gave me their utmost support during the application process,
being on the end of the phone when I called them up in despair during the week I was
expecting to hear whether or not I was successful, and when I refused to open the e-mail
when I finally received it! And finally, of course, my marine biologist boyfriend John who
convinced me I did have the tenacity to get the funding for this project, and never let my
negative thoughts take over.
Last, but certainly not least, I would also like to thank Oceans Research for allowing me to
join their incredible team. It is their hard work and determination which is responsible for the
success of this project, and ultimately for sending away so many inspired students with
memories that will last a lifetime. I hope this project continues long into the future and that
their fight to save these animals continues until they are no longer threatened by humans.
1
Abstract
The great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) is an apex predator; a predator with no
predator of its own, residing at the top of the food chain. Consequently, this animal is very
well adapted to both hunting and killing, and is attributed to the majority of unprovoked shark
attacks worldwide. Through human activity, such as finning (the removal and retention of the
fins), the population of great white sharks has declined rapidly over recent years, earning
them a vulnerable conservation status. Conservation of this animal is therefore necessary to
prevent its otherwise inevitable extinction. Oceans Research are a group based primarily in
Mosselbaai, South Africa, equipped with a dedicated team of scientists who aim to better the
understanding of this animal, with the ultimate goal of conservation. I spent one month with
this research group, assisting various research projects, such as behavioural and population
based studies. Contribution from volunteers is essential to the running of this organisation,
since scientific research can be particularly costly, both in time and money. During my stay,
the team managed to tag and track their first small (1.5 metre) juvenile shark, giving an
insight into the movement patterns of this size and age of shark, as compared with larger,
more mature sharks. We also documented sightings of between 5-12 great whites daily,
assisted research projects on smaller sharks in the laboratory, and contributed to the on-going
cetacean population studies.
2
Chapter 1: Introduction
The great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias), also known as white shark and white death,
is a species of lamniform shark. Lamniformes are sharks which possess two dorsal fins, an
anal fin, five gill slits, and a mouth extending behind the eyes (Grzimek’s Animal Life
Encyclopedia). White sharks are epipelagic, residing in the illuminated zone of the ocean
below the surface. The pelagic zone describes the area of the ocean which is neither near
shore, nor near the bottom of the ocean. The benthic zone, in contrast, is the area which is at
the lowest part of the ocean, i.e. the sea floor.
White sharks are apex predators; this means that they are at the top of the food chain, with no
predator of their own (except for occasional documented attacks by the killer whale). They
are carnivorous, and their main prey includes other fish (including tuna and smaller shark
species), cetaceans (dolphins, whales) pinnipeds (seals) and sometimes sea birds and turtles,
although these two are not particularly meaty and not their food of choice (IUCN 2012). They
preferably eat animals with a high content of energy rich fat; contrary to popular belief, they
do not like the taste of humans, and do not deliberately hunt them. Sharks are ambush
hunters, stalking their prey from the depths, and then propelling themselves through the water
and taking the unsuspecting animal by surprise. Since many of their prey are also very well
adapted swimmers, they rely on this element of surprise, as if their prey has seen them, more
often than not the attack will be unsuccessful and the prey swims away unscathed due to
superior speed and agility. As a consequence of propelling themselves through the water at
speed, white sharks often completely breach (leave) the water during an attack. This
behaviour has been best documented around Seal Island in Mosselbaai, and the nearby False
Bay. Famously, last year a white shark breached the water and landed entirely on the research
boat used by Oceans Research, whilst seven members were on board.
3
White sharks possess characteristic conical snouts and countershading; a white belly and a
darker (grey) dorsal area, which assists in camouflage (see image 1 below). When viewed
from underneath only a vague silhouette is seen amidst the sunlight, and from above they
blend in well with the sea.
Figure 1: White shark anatomy, demonstrating the different fins possessed by the
animal, the external sex organs found in males (claspers) and countershading.
(http://thsblazers.com/mayagoitiae/Anatomy.html).
White sharks are renowned for their size; adults may reach lengths of up to 6 metres, and
some have even been reported to be 6.4 metres, weighing almost 2000kg. Rumours of catches
of 7 metre white sharks exist; however, there is debate as to exactly what species of shark
these were. Their average life span is approximately 30 years, reaching reproductive maturity
at approximately 17 years (IUCN 2012). Females are in fact generally larger than the males.
White sharks have been branded man-eaters, nicknamed “White Death”, and have received a
substantial amount of negative attention from the media, especially since the 1975 film
“Jaws”. This, married with its occasional lethal interaction with humans, has encouraged an
increase in white shark hunting, particularly for trophy catches and sports fishing. White
sharks are also particularly curious, often approaching boats and nets, encouraging their
4
capture, which is most often lethal. White sharks may also be targeted for commercial
finning, whereby their fins are removed from the body, and the bleeding carcass is discarded
back into the sea, to produce the eastern delicacy “Shark Fin Soup”. They are also often
targeted for traditional Chinese medicine, where parts of the body are used in ancient
remedies, which have little scientific evidence to support their efficacy. All of these factors
are contributing to the decline of white sharks globally.
A policy has just been passed in Australia by politician Colin Barnett, whereby any white
sharks that enter waters commonly populated by people will be culled immediately; this is in
contrary to previous laws, where they would only be killed if they have attacked a human.
Although human safety is a priority for the government, arguably it is a choice for humans to
enter the sea in which these sharks reside; therefore the responsibility should lie with the
people who decide to enter shark infested waters. If a man entered a lion’s den dressed as a
zebra, you would not blame the lion for eating the man; such is true for white sharks, and
they should not be punished for human activity. The sea is their home; we are trespassers, not
the other way round. Since sharks are apex predators, the further decline in its numbers could
have drastic effects on the global food chain.
Oceans Research are a group based in Southern Africa, who carry out cutting edge
interdisciplinary marine research with the ultimate aim of applying this information to
successfully manage and conserve Southern Africa’s marine species. This includes not only
white sharks, but various cetaceans (whales, dolphins and porpoises), turtles, and rays. The
group have also advised governmental and non-governmental organisations on conservation
issues and strategies.
Mosselbaai is home to the most well established marine lab of Oceans Research, with
numerous research facilities including two research vessels, acoustic tracking and monitoring
equipment, survey equipment and a shark research and exhibition aquarium. Mosselbaai also
boasts a variety of marine megafauna, with an abundance of white sharks (approximately
300) residing in the area, and numerous dolphin and whale species. Mosselbaai is also home
to the infamous Seal Island, populated by around 3,000 cape fur seals, which is thought to be
a major factor contributing to the high numbers of white sharks observed.
The aim of this project was to join Oceans Research for one month and contribute to Project
Great White Shark. The main aims of this project are investigation of population composition
and abundance, developing and implementing identification methods to assist population
5
studies, horizontal and vertical movement patterns through acoustic tracking, examining
predator prey relationships, and finally the impact of cage diving on shark behaviour and
abundance.
In order to carry out these project aims, Oceans Research have a diverse range of
experimental methodologies; some have been specifically designed for purpose by members
of the group, such as bite strength devices, whereas others are simpler. For example,
population based studies involve attracting the sharks to the research vessel (by means of
“chumming”, see page 7 for more details), photographing the dorsal fin of the shark (which
acts as a fingerprint for identification) and filling in a data sheet of any distinctive features of
the shark. This is then added to an ever growing database of the sharks present in Mosselbaai,
and helps calculate the approximate abundance of sharks in the area by taking into account
both sightings of individual sharks, and repeat sightings of sharks. Knowing the population
abundance of sharks in the area is essential in conservation, as if the number begins to decline
or increase, the team can investigate possible attributions.
The activities undertaken by both the group and the volunteers during my stay will be
discussed in detail in the following sections. All photographs included were taken either by
me or other volunteers, and Oceans Research have given me their permission to include these
figures in this report. Limited raw data is included in this report due to intellectual property
issues; replications have been included where possible.
6
Activities
Chapter 2: Chumming
By far, the favourite activity of anyone volunteering with Oceans Research was chumming.
Well, I say chumming to mean the activity as a whole, which has numerous different roles for
the volunteers; the actual act of chumming is something that I would not do again in a hurry,
and you will see why.
Chum trips were undertaken in order to continue with long term population studies of Great
White sharks in Mosselbaai. Oceans Research aim to monitor the population of these sharks
in order to ascertain possible increases or decreases in the number of sharks, and also to
monitor breeding. Through these studies, it has been discovered that an estimated 300 Great
White sharks are resident in Mosselbaai. This number has remained fairly constant over the
last couple of years.
As Great Whites are an endangered species, and Mosselbaai is home to such a large number,
population studies are pivotal to successful conservation of the species. Mosselbaai is also a
nursery ground, where Great Whites come to breed and give birth. Great Whites do not spend
time rearing their young, and many smaller lone Great Whites (around 1.5 metres) can be
regularly observed. As such, this may explain why the general size of the Great Whites is
smaller here than can be observed in nearby bays, such as False Bay, where they are regularly
observed at up to 5 metres, and attacks on humans are more common. This may also explain
why, despite the high numbers of Great White present in Mosselbaai, and despite the fact that
Mosselbaai still remains a surfer’s hot spot, attacks on humans are rare. Only 3 fatal attacks
have been recorded so far in Mosselbaai, which is an incredibly small number considering
this dynamic. Here in Mosselbaai, the sharks and humans seem to live in harmony. Seal
Island also presents a ready supply of live dinner (3,000 seals) that is smaller and more to
their taste than humans.
Chum trips were also used to generate continued behavioural studies of Great Whites,
including investigating predation strategies and bite strength studies. If it can be predicted
when Great Whites are most likely to attack, i.e. during certain times of the day/year, this
could be used to attempt to decrease the likelihood of attacks on humans.
Chum trips were either carried out in the morning (6:00am start) or afternoon (1:30pm start).
There were several duties to be carried out, which we were all given the opportunity to do.
7
These were; photography, chumming, baiting, data and spotting. There were several different
sites for chumming, which included Seal Island (where predation was most likely to occur), a
resting reef called Hartenbos (where least aggressive behaviour is predicted) and others
across the bay.
2.1 Data
The person assigned to data duty had to be ready to be shouted at from all directions, and be
able to write down details very quickly. A data sheet was provided to be filled in, which
included sections such as time of appearance/disappearance, size, gender (only if claspers
could definitely be seen or not seen) and distinctive markings/tags (see image below). All of
this information was entered into the database on arrival at shore for the population studies.
This allowed for identification of sharks which had been previously recorded, and new sharks
which had not been seen before. This can then be used in an equation to approximate the
average number of sharks in the bay.
Figure 2: An example of a shark seen on a chumming trip with a satellite tag attached to
its dorsal fin. Since few sharks have been satellite tagged, this allowed for easy
identification of the shark. This shark actually had two tags (the other is below the
water line) and was nicknamed “Two Tag Tony”.
8
As this image shows, fouling and scarring can be seen on the dorsal fin where the satellite tag
has been attached. These do fall off after a couple of years, and obviously when satellite
tracking, prolonged periods of study are required for sufficient data, however it does mean
that the tag can cause extensive damage to the dorsal fin. Personally, I believe that a less
destructive method of satellite tagging is needed. This is for several reasons. As already
mentioned, the tags do not come off for up to several years, causing extensive damage which
could affect the ability of the shark to swim normally. Also, when attaching satellite tags, the
shark needs to be removed from the water, and the tag drilled into the shark manually. This is
very invasive and causes a lot of stress to the shark. Several researchers do not agree with this
method as it has the potential to cause life threatening stress. Therefore, I think more effort
needs to be spent developing a better technique, as frankly it is no good potentially killing
sharks, even when the ultimate goal is to conserve them; somewhat of a catch 22 here.
2.2 Spotting
Spotting was certainly the easiest job of all the chumming duties, and many volunteers used it
as an excuse to “catch some rays”. Having said that, it involved a lot of constant
concentration and was vital for the whole operation. The spotter was placed on the small look
out area of the boat, above the cabin, with the best view of the surrounding ocean possible. It
was their job, unsurprisingly, to spot incoming Great Whites and to inform the others of their
arrival. This mainly involved yelling clock times as locations; the bow of the boat was 12,
and the stern 6 o’clock (it is amazing how difficult this was for many volunteers, who simply
could not get the hang of this; “Shark at 6 o’clock!!!” “Are you sure?!” “Yes, the OTHER 6
o’clock!!!”).
It was particularly important to know if a shark was headed towards the bait, as you want to
be on the ball to make sure they do not make off with the sardine head and lose interest
before identification can take place.
2.3 Chumming
What can I say about chumming? Apart from; the smell has never left me.
Although Mosselbaai is rife with Great Whites, it is necessary to attract them to the boat by
particular means, in order to identify them properly. Sharks love blood, and all things
disgusting really. Sharks have an incredible sense of smell, being able to smell just drops of
blood from kilometres away. Therefore, the best way to get them around the boat is by
9
throwing in bucket loads of freshly squished fish guts. The unwanted cuts of fish from the
local fishermen (heads and tails) were bought at a very low price for this purpose. It was the
job of the volunteer to jump into the crate of fish bits and crush, pummel, grind and squish
them into the most disgusting, stinky, bloody pulp you’ll have ever seen. The smellier the
better (see figure 3 below). This “chum” was then chucked into the water by the volunteer
over the duration of the chum trip, to attract as many sharks as possible. This involved adding
a small amount to the water approximately every 15 seconds, so it was non-stop, and usually
resulted in many blisters (and, soggy feet where boots could not withstand the crushing).
A
10
B
Figure 3: A- The bloody, smelly and oily chum being crushed by two lucky volunteers.
B- The art of delicately throwing the chum into the water without getting splashback.
2.4 Photography
One of the most important duties on a chumming trip was photography. Having never used an
expensive camera before, we were briefed on how to get the best picture (see sections 2.5i2.5v overleaf).
Photographs were only taken of the dorsal fin, as data was used to record other distinctive
features of the shark. Also, it is difficult to get pictures of the other areas of the shark which
are more likely to be submerged in the water.
A shark’s dorsal fin is like a finger print; each one is unique, and can be used to identify the
shark for use in population studies. Therefore, it was the job of the baiter (see section 2.6 for
more details) to encourage the shark to come out of the water enough for an adequate
photograph to be taken of the dorsal fin. This was very tricky, and most photographs
consisted of either a blur or a big splash of water. However, when a decent photograph was
taken it was extremely rewarding.
11
2.4i Exposure
This may seem fairly obvious to an experienced camera user, however, when taking pictures
during sunrise/sunset, the sun can create problems and make it difficult to get a good picture.
We were taught how to pick the right exposure, as if it was set too high it would cause the
picture to be far too bright, too low and the picture would be far too dim. See figure 4 below
for some shots taken demonstrating how important this is.
A
C
B
Figure 4: A- Under exposure; the dorsal fin is too dark to be able to see any
pigmentation. B- Over exposure; the image is too bright for identification. C- The
perfect exposure to be able to see a high amount of detail. Note the scarring present
along the length of the fin, possibly indicating an attack or a run in with a boat.
2.4ii Fin Direction
This is again fairly obvious; if the dorsal fin is pointing towards, or away, from the camera, it
makes identification very difficult. The fin must also not be leaning towards or away from the
camera. See figure 5 below.
Figure 5: The dorsal fin is pointing toward the camera,
distorting the image so that identification is difficult.
12
2.4iii Submersion
Again, common sense is needed here. If the dorsal fin is totally submerged in the water, you
are not going to be able to see anything. Even if only half of the dorsal fin is submerged, this
may cause inaccurate identification as many pigmentation marks are located at the base of the
dorsal fin. See figure 6 below for poor and good examples.
A
B
C
Figure 6: A- A partially submerged fin. B- A totally useless photograph. All too often, I
would spend so long focusing and adjusting the camera that the shark would have
popped up and disappeared before I could even click the button. C- The perfect amount
of dorsal.
2.4iv Obstructions
Since the baiter was located at the front of the boat, it was very easy for them/ their rope to
get in the way of getting a good photograph. It’s not very helpful trying to identify a shark
when the entire photograph is actually focused on something else. See figure 7 below for
some examples of more useless and useful photographs taken.
A
B
C
Figure 7: A and B- Out of focus shots with the rope in the way. C- A clear photo.
13
2.4v Identification of Sharks
As mentioned, the photographs taken were used for population based studies to estimate the
abundance of Great Whites in Mosselbaai. In order to estimate this, both numbers of sharks
seen only once, and repeat sightings of the same shark are needed. In order to determine
whether a shark has been seen before, photographs were added to a database and compared
on shore. The images below demonstrate two photographs taken from separate chum trips,
showing the same shark spotted twice.
Figure 8: A shark displaying distinct white pigmentation (“Rosie”) on the front edge of
the dorsal fin and darker scarring at the trailing edge, allowing easy identification.
Although the aim of photography was for shark identification, the leaders would let us take
more exciting photographs of the sharks, if adequate dorsal shots had already been taken.
Some fun action shots are shown below and overleaf in figure 9.
14
15
Figure 9: Images taken during chumming trips of great whites having fun.
16
2.5 Baiting
Baiting was the most exciting task on a chum trip that volunteers had to fight over. It was
hard to get used to and required solid concentration for the duration of the trip. The point of
baiting is to lure the sharks towards the boat, and encourage them to surface enough so that a
photograph of the dorsal fin and identifications could be made.
A large tuna head was used as the bait, attached to a long rope with a yellow buoy to make
sure it floats on the surface of the water (see figure 10 below). The baiter had to ensure that
the bait did not come closer than 2 metres to the boat, for several reasons. The main reason is
that it is difficult to get a good ID on a shark when it’s trying to drag the bait under the boat,
and also for safety reasons; the closer the shark is to the volunteers, the greater the risk of
someone becoming hurt.
Figure 10: The bait (tuna head) being attached to the bait rope.
17
There is a bit of a knack to baiting. To begin with, it’s very easy to drag it away from an
oncoming shark with speed (see figure 11 below). This usually results in the shark not
bothering to chase the bait, losing interest and swimming away. But you also don’t want the
shark to be able to take the bait, as not only is this a waste of bait, but hungry sharks are more
likely to re-appear. They do have a tendency of swimming off once they’ve fed, but having
said that it did appear to make some of them even hungrier.
Figure 11: Pulling the bait away from a snapping shark’s mouth proved to be quite a
difficult task at times.
Eyes need to be kept on the water at all times, and it helps if the spotter is on the ball. It was
very easy to turn around and join in a brief conversation, and suddenly you’re being yanked
over the bow of the boat by a shark that suddenly appeared and grabbed the bait. Utmost
concentration was therefore required.
The key to baiting was to make judgements as to how you think the shark will behave.
Obviously, this is quite difficult since they are wild animals. However, you can sometimes
get a feel of whether that shark was particularly aggressive. For example, a shark that
approaches at speed is possibly likely to try and grab the bait as quickly as possible, whereas
others would approach with caution and slowly sniff around, getting a feel for what was
going on. Generally, the smaller sharks were much less aggressive than the larger ones. Some
18
sharks appeared numerous times as well and you could remember if one was very feisty. We
were also taught to watch their caudal (tail) fin; if the shark makes a quick flick of this fin, it
means it is going to attack. It’s quite difficult to keep an eye on this, as generally you are
watching their mouths!
When I first baited, I did find it very difficult and I was a bit useless. I was dragging it here
and there and not having much success; however, after time I did get used to it and got better.
I managed to lose one and a half baits on day one. The first one I lost was because I turned
around to eat some mini cheddars off a friend, and suddenly there was a huge splash and a
shark was making a point that he was not going to leave without this food. I dropped the rope
and let the field leader take over as I was being dragged quite forcefully over the bow (there
was a metal cage in place so we didn’t fall in!), but only after I was completely soaked
through by a large triumphant tail flick from the shark, leaving me feeling very sorry for
myself.
There is also a knack to retrieving the bait off a shark once it has grabbed it, which we were
taught to do, but many volunteers weren’t quite strong or confident enough to do this. You
had to keep the rope taut without pulling it out of its mouth; this would likely only break the
rope or allow the shark to easily pull the bait off. When the shark loosens his grip of the bait
in an attempt to secure it in his mouth, you have to react quickly and yank it out of its mouth.
It takes patience and a lot of arm muscles, and I wasn’t quite good enough to get any back
(except the one half!). One volunteer did, however, manage to lose 5 baits in one day, so by
their standard I did not do too badly!
2.6 Some Chum Trip Stories
Some chum trips were fairly uneventful, only seeing a few placid sharks and not having much
photography success. But there was not one single trip where we didn’t see any sharks, in
fact, I think the smallest number we saw in any one trip was 4, and the most 13. 13 Great
Whites in one day really was spectacular; most people will (gladly) go their whole life time
without seeing any.
Some trips, on the other hand, were rather dramatic and exciting. Of course, for me, trying to
tug the bait out of a Great Whites mouth was a highlight. But despite being soaked, this shark
was not hugely problematic, and others struggled a lot more to get the rope back.
19
On my first chum trip, where we saw 12 sharks in total, we had a rather aggressive shark play
us numerous visits. We were in Hartenbos, the reef which is used as a resting ground for
sharks. Usually, sharks tend to be a bit more placid here as compared with Seal Island; their
hunting ground, where there is no messing around. But on this particular day, we encountered
a 4.5 metre shark; a pretty large and hungry one! The shark circled the boat a few times,
working out exactly what was going on it seemed. At first the shark seemed fairly docile,
until out of nowhere it seemed, the shark grabbed the bait with incredible speed. Before
anyone had even realised what was going on, the shark was tugging the bait and the boat
away with it. He was not leaving until he had eaten this! Two of the male field experts were
on the rope, desperately trying to get it back, but to no avail. I have never seen so much
splashing; everyone on the boat was soaked from head to toe, even those standing back. The
shark was doing flips, jerking his head from side to side, diving down, jumping up, rolling
onto his belly and trying to drag the bait into the depths. It was the most exciting thing I saw
on any chum trip; you really appreciate the power these animals have when you are in this
situation. It was a struggle for almost 5 minutes between the guys and the shark. Eventually,
the shark bit through the bait, rope and buoy, and was off. We really weren’t expecting
aggression on this magnitude in their resting ground, but it just goes to show that a shark does
not mess around when it is hungry.
20
Chapter 3: Fishing
As part of the aquarium duties, a few fishing trips were made in an attempt to catch some
pelagic sharks (free diving trips were for benthic sharks) or interesting large fish. I had been
fishing once before, but had clearly forgotten how to do it since in an attempt to reel in the
line I accidentally just let it all go and it all became very twisted, and was quite an arduous
task to get it right again! Fishing trips were good fun because, well, they didn’t require an
awful lot of effort, and it was a nice chilled afternoon, making a change from scrubbing rocks
or smelling chum!
We used small pieces of squid as bait, and most of the trips involved a lot of waiting around.
The only things we (not me, I caught absolutely nada, fishing is clearly not my forte...)
managed to catch what we believed to be the same Red Roman, over and over again. The
same sized spiny red fish kept appearing on the same line every half an hour, which did
become exceedingly annoying! Although, it did bring some humour, as when one of the
volunteers was trying to get the hook out of its mouth, he was clearly fed up of being dragged
out of the water and defecated all over his white t-shirt. It was truly disgusting, but absolutely
hilarious (see figure 12 below).
Figure 12: An unhappy Red Roman sought revenge on his captor.
21
The most exciting thing that happened whilst fishing was, during one trip, the water visibility
was the best we had ever seen it. We could see right to the bottom (about 10-15 metres) of the
reef, which meant we could keep a close eye on our bait. I wasn’t really paying much
attention as it was coming towards the end of the trip and we hadn’t caught anything. I went
to check on my bait, and was faced with something I wasn’t expecting to see. A Great White
had decided to swim right through my line. I had seen a lot of Great Whites by this point, but
I was not expecting to see one on a fishing trip, and it scared the living heck out of me. I also
wasn’t expecting him to eat my one inch square of squid, but I was worried that he may not
see it and accidentally get it caught in his teeth and drag me and my rod off the boat.
Thankfully, although he swam through it, it did not get caught, and I didn’t have to chuck the
rod off the side of the boat and run away like a wimp.
22
Chapter 4: Cage Diving
As a treat (obviously, for all of our hard work), Oceans Research organised two cage diving
trips for us, with another Great White conservation group based in Mosselbaai; White Shark
Africa. This was very unexpected, since these trips cost over £100 a go usually, so we were
all very grateful for this exciting opportunity.
I was always unsure about cage diving, since I thought it could possibly cause an increase in
attacks on humans, since you are subjecting the sharks to people in an environment where
they want to feed. However, fickle as I am, I jumped at the opportunity to go and put my
woes behind me. It’s not often that you get within inches of a Great White under the water, in
a scenario where you are not being attacked.
Few accidents have happened cage diving, and this was a very experienced and trustworthy
group who do hundreds of trips every year, and since they often collaborated with Oceans
Research, we were sure they were a trustworthy group. We were given a safety brief before
departing. Mostly common sense, but a few important things to note. There were bars secured
within the external bars; these were the ones to be used to hold onto, not, under any
circumstances, any of the outer bars. Obviously, this would mean that a shark could have the
opportunity to bite us; if we were seen with our hands on the outside bars, we would have
been taken out of the cage.
The weather on both trips was not good at all; cold, overcast and windy. It had been raining
heavily as a storm had just passed through Mosselbaai, meaning that the visibility was,
frankly, shockingly bad; around 4/5 metres only. We weren’t expecting the water to be warm,
and we were given thick 5mm wetsuits with hoods to keep us “nice and warm”, but I assure
you, even with one of those on, 15 degree water is not warm.
The cage was fairly large, and could fit 6 people in it (uncomfortably). To lure in the sharks,
chum was used. Since this is a tourist company, they could afford a lot more chum than
Oceans Research, meaning that the water was extra bloody and smelly to attract more sharks.
This also was very annoying when we were on chum trips, because if the cage diving boat
(Shark Warrior) had a trip on the same day, they had so much blood that it would lure all the
sharks away from our boat. But, it was good for us during the cage diving trip (except for the
fact that we were swimming in horrific fish guts). We were not given scuba gear as this was
unnecessary; I took a snorkel so that I could stay below water for longer, but most of the time
I was diving deeper than my snorkel and it wasn’t much use.
23
We were taken to Seal Island both days, in the hope we would see some drama. Boy did we
ever. We were allowed in the water twice each trip, for around 20 minutes (until we couldn’t
feel any of our limbs anymore). Every time a shark would approach, the team would yell “Go
Down!” and we would do so. It was like nothing I can really describe. Being inches from
these animals, in the safety of your cage, but feeling very, very vulnerable. There were bite
marks in the foam lining the cage, and many of the bars had large dents in them. We knew
the sharks could not get in, but every time a fish swam over your toes you couldn’t help but
think you were about to be eaten, so there was a lot of squealing going on.
Looking these sharks in the eye really was a feeling like no other. There was no better way to
appreciate the grace and magnitude of these animals. They didn’t even seem threatening
anymore, you just felt at one with them! Certainly, you respected that you were an intruder in
their territory, and they were the kings.
I’m not sure how we got so lucky, but it seemed that on our turns in the cage, we saw the
most action out of anyone. We were expecting the sharks to be aggressive as we were next to
Seal Island, but this was on another level. It seemed they were hungry for some action, and
weren’t leaving without a snack. 5 baits were lost on the second trip! We were able to watch
the sharks from under water, propelling themselves vertically up at an incredible speed, and
jumping up out of the water to the unsuspecting baiter, and grabbing the bait. Often (it
seemed they wanted a good show), they would drag the bait towards the cage, and drag
themselves along the bars, occasionally getting their fins through the larger gaps. At one
point, the baiter let the bait get a bit too close to the cage without realising, and a shark
approached very quickly and smashed into the cage, right where I was. The bait got stuck
between the bars and the shark was attacking the cage, inches from my hand. Its mouth was
absolutely massive, and I could see the whole way down its throat, and every single ragged
tooth. I jumped to the back of the cage in fear and was squealing like a little pig with
excitement. The shark dragged the bait away, but then decided to come smashing back into
the cage and sent us all flying sideways. He added to the numerous dents in the bars at that
point. It was truly spectacular to see so much action, so many breaches, and really get the
opportunity to see first-hand just how powerful these killing machines are, and how perfectly
designed they are to do what they do.
If anyone if interested in watching a short (4 minute) You Tube compilation made by a friend
of our cage diving trips, here (overleaf) is the link:
24
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZ0H2-q-PbQ&feature=youtu.be
The video is called Shark Warrior.mov and the description is Video with clips from a little of
the first dive, and mostly the second cage dive with Great White Sharks!! To help you find it.
It really is worth a watch, as the last few minutes are full of a lot of action!
25
Chapter 5: Tracking
To gain a better understanding of the behaviour and movement patterns of Great Whites,
Oceans Research tag sharks and follow them around the bay for several days (or as long as
possible). Through tracking, it was first discovered that Great Whites do indeed hunt at night,
as it was assumed that they would only hunt at night due to visual constraints. Discoveries
such as this can be used to help prevent shark attacks, by informing people of when sharks
are most likely to attack.
Two tags are used on the sharks in acoustic tracking, meaning there are two opportunities for
things to go wrong. One is a stomach tag, which was sewn into a large fish, with small hooks
to ensure it stays in the shark’s stomach, as often when sharks ingest foreign objects they will
throw them back up. The hooks are small and do not cause any damage to the shark’s
stomachs; sharks have been found with much larger sharp objects in their insides before!
The second tag has to be attached via a tagging pole, just underneath the dorsal fin. The pole
was basically just a long shark metal rod, with the tag attached at the end. The tag needs to be
adjusted to the size of the shark, making it difficult to do this swiftly. The purpose of using
two tags is merely to increase location accuracy. The tags (see figure 13 below) have small
transmitters in them, which can be picked up by a receiver, and gives a precise location of the
shark.
Figure 13: The external tag used by the team to acoustically track great white sharks.
The tags also read the temperature of the surrounding environment; the stomach tag gives the
temperature of the shark’s stomach, and the external tag gives the temperature of the shark’s
muscle. This allowed us to be able to compare these temperatures to that of the water in
26
which they were swimming; it is known that sharks can have a temperature that is around 1015 degrees warmer than to that of the water.
Since tagging is a continuous activity, volunteers were assigned shifts. These were 2am-8am,
8am-6pm or 6pm-2am. Takeovers had to be done swiftly to ensure the shark was not lost.
This involved jumping from one boat to the other as quickly as possible, which, during severe
weather, was a rather difficult task.
4 volunteers were required per shift, as there were 3 individual roles which were rotated
hourly. The fourth volunteer would take a break when it was their turn, as tracking is a long
and uncomfortable task and rests were necessary. The roles were as follows; tracker, skipper
and data.
5.1 Tracker
Tracking was the most difficult task, and very stressful at times. A receiving device was
placed at the end of a pole, which was inserted into the water. This picked up the signal from
the shark, and transmitted it to the receiver box (see figure 14 overleaf). Signals were
presented on the box as frequencies (in Hz). When a strong signal was received (>70 Hz) it
meant the shark was very close by. When this frequency was reached, the location of the boat
from the GPS was recorded, giving a precise location of the shark. The aim was to get a
location at least every 10 minutes so that the route of the shark around the bay could be
followed. We were told not to rely on watching the frequencies, but instead should listen to
the sound the receiver produced so we could concentrate harder on getting closer to the shark.
At signals above 70 Hz, the beeps emitted from the box would get louder and closer together
(almost like listening to a heart rate monitor).
27
A
B
Figure 14: A- The tracker box. B- The receiving device is fitting on the end of this long
pole, attached to the side of the boat.
In order to follow the shark, the device on the tracking pole was fitted in a 12 o’clock
position. The tracker would rotate the pole until the best signal was read from the receiver.
When this was achieved, the tracker would shout the direction the tracking device was
pointing to the skipper (E.g. 12 o’clock, 6 o’clock etc).
In order to ensure accuracy of readings, as mentioned locations were only taken when the
frequency reached over 70 Hz. This could be very difficult, especially with a fast moving
shark. More often than not, we would spend long periods making very small movements in
the boat, going round in circles as the shark darted around not knowing what it was doing. If
readings of >80 Hz were achieved, continual locations could be taken. At this frequency, the
shark is most likely directly under the boat. At around 70, it can be assumed the shark it
roughly 20 metres away. Since the depth of the water was 15-20 metres, it generally meant
the shark was very close by.
Tracking was very uncomfortable as you had to perch on the side of the boat, and were very
exposed to the cold air. The tracking pole was also freezing cold, so white numb fingers were
common. It was really exciting doing it, but very unpleasant at the same time!
28
5.2 Skipper
The job of the skipper sounds simple, but for someone who has never driven a boat before, it
was quite difficult at times (see figure 15 below for the frightening image of myself behind
the wheel).
Figure 15: Skippering. Me, taking control of the boat!
We had to rely on directions shouted by the tracker, and move the boat accordingly. It was
quite difficult making continual adjustments and try not to over/under steer and lose the
shark, go too fast and drive over the shark, or too slow and again lose the shark. We were also
only following clock points, not a GPS, and when the tracker is yelling “ten o’clock! No!
Eight o’clock! No, eleven o’clock!” it becomes tedious and difficult to keep up.
The skipper was also responsible for the safety of the other members of the team, so it was
extremely important to pay attention at all times. Obviously, it’s easier during the day to see
where you are going, but at night rocks were hidden, and large waves would seem to come
29
out of nowhere. We obviously also had to be very aware of Seal Island, which is surrounded
by jagged rocks. We would also not travel further than 2 km from the bay; the boat was too
small for distances longer than this, and it would have been dangerous. Therefore, the skipper
had to be very aware of where they were and the potential hazards. The only thing we had to
navigate at night was the stars. If the tracker yelled “7 o’clock” and you began to turn
accordingly, you had to make sure you knew how far you were turning, therefore identifying
a star in approximately the right place before adjusting the boat was necessary.
5.3 Data
Data was the simplest task, but equally important during tracking. As mentioned, whenever a
reading over 70 Hz was achieved, the GPS was used to take the exact location of the shark at
that point. The data handler therefore had to quickly note down the time and the boat
coordinates.
5.4 Our Tracking Trips
I managed to score the most unfortunate set of shifts for tracking; I managed to only go out
on the 6pm-2am and 2am-8am shifts when tracking started. I did, however, manage to score
the very first shift of 7am-6pm, where we hoped to tag the shark and start tracking going.
The tags used, as mentioned, were both a stomach tag and a non-permanent external tag
attached to below the dorsal fin. We needed to tag either a 1.5 metre (juvenile) shark, or a
large 4.5+ metre shark, as sharks of intermediate sizes had already been tagged in the bay.
The tracking started basically with a chumming trip, trying to attract as many sharks as
possible to the boat in order to increase our chances of finding the right sized shark. We
generated a very large chum slick (a slimy trail) across the bay by chumming hard with twice
as much chum in the hope that the sharks would follow the scent towards our boat. After
around 4 hours of chumming, we had seen about 8 sharks; one was 1.5 metre, but it was too
timid to come close enough to the boat to tag it. This was exceedingly frustrating! And
having created such a large chum slick, whenever this shark did come near the boat, another
shark would approach having smelt the blood, and scare it away.
After this very frustrating series of encounters, we thought we had hit the jackpot. A 4.5
metre shark started sniffing around the boat. We told Enrico, one of the heads of Oceans
30
Research leading this expedition, who seemed to have forgotten what we were out here for;
he had not sewed up the stomach tag, nor had he started to put together the tag on the tagging
pole. Enrico jumped into gear and stitched up the fish with the tag inside; luckily the shark
was still sniffing around the boat. Despite being in Hartenbos (the resting ground), this shark
was an extremely aggressive male. He made a point that he was not going to leave without
the bait; this was good for us, as we could slipped the tagged fish in front of the bait and sure
enough, he grabbed it. But this wasn’t the end of the story. This shark was going nowhere.
The bait wasn’t enough and he wouldn’t let go of the bait rope. He had a massive fight with
the field expert who was desperately trying not to let the shark rip off the end of the boat by
pulling so hard. After around 3 minutes of struggling and splashing, the shark accidentally
came crashing into the motor of the boat. He smacked his head extremely hard, sending the
people standing in front flying sideways. Immediately, the shark was frightened and swam
off. We hadn’t shot the second tag on.
In panic mode, we pulled up the anchor and started up the receiver. Although we didn’t have
the second tag, the stomach tag still gives off enough signal to be able to find it if it is within
200 metres of the boat. Sound easy? The rest is history. 5 hours of driving the boat around,
finding a weak signal, losing it as the shark was clearly terrified of the boat, and having to
start again. We never got the shark close enough to the boat to tag it. The stomach tag was
around £500; wasted. The day; wasted. We were frustrated, to say the least.
The boat set off again the next day with a new stomach tag and managed to tag a 1.5 metre
shark within about 2 hours of setting off; lucky them. Tagging commenced.
Jumping onto the boat on our first shift was quite an eye opener. There was a storm headed
over to Mosselbaai, and the sea was starting to pick up. We had to jump from one boat to
another with our belongings, trying not to fall into the sea. I picked up skippering fairly
quickly and certainly enjoyed being in control of the boat. Tracking was a bit harder. This
shark, being a baby, was extremely skittish. It didn’t really know what it was doing; sharks
this age haven’t found their feet, they don’t hunt, nor do they follow other sharks. The shark
took us on a rollercoaster ride; shooting off in one direction then another, slowing down and
sitting under the boat, and of course; swimming right up to Seal Island. I lost the shark a
couple of times as it went too close to the rocks and we could not take the boat close enough
to pick up a signal without endangering everybody on board. The shark also liked to swim
into the oil rig; again this was a no go zone and we lost it a few times. But after around 15
minutes of driving the boat around in all directions we managed to find it again each time.
31
When driving around Seal Island, we knew the shark wasn’t there to hunt; it’s too small to eat
seals. Instead we think the shark was just getting a feel for what they were. We would often
see seals darting around our boat, with the shark less than 5 metres away. The seals would
swim circles around the shark, watching it, almost mocking it. It was truly amazing.
At night time, movement in the water disturbs the bioluminescent phytoplankton, which light
up fluorescent blue. We could actually watch the shark, and the surrounding seals, dancing
around the boat, mimicking a bright blue, iridescent comet. It was nothing like I could ever
describe, and you really have to witness this to appreciate just how mind blowingly beautiful
it was.
Tracking was cold, long, and hard work (see figure 16 below). But knowing that we were
contributing to such a cutting edge research project really made it worth the constant sea
sickness, numb extremities and frustrating cat and mouse chases.
Figure 16: Very cold at the end of a tracking shift.
Although I do not have the data which we gathered during our tracking shifts, we were shown
it a few days later so we could all consider the shark’s movement patterns. It was very
interesting to compare the movements of a juvenile to that of an adult shark; the movement of
adult sharks were much more predictable (see figure 17 overleaf); the shark would hunt, then
rest, and occasionally travel around the bay. The shark we tagged, however, had no definitive
32
movement pattern. It was going here there and everywhere, following fish, finding new
smells and new environments; finding its own two feet.
These are reproductions of the data which was gathered previously from an adult shark, and
the data from our juvenile shark.
A
Figure 17: A map of Mosselbaai, demonstrating the tracking of two different sized
Great White sharks. Note Seal Island (highlighted by the white arrow) and Hartenbos
(highlighted by the yellow arrow). A- A reproduction of the movement of an adult shark
33
B
Figure 17: A map of Mosselbaai, demonstrating the tracking of two different sized
Great White sharks. Note Seal Island (highlighted by the white arrow) and Hartenbos
(highlighted by the yellow arrow). A- A reproduction of the movement of an adult shark
around the bay. Note the circling of Seal Island (hunting ground) and Hartenbos
(resting ground). This movement is fairly predictable of the observed behaviour of a
shark this age. B- A reproduction of the movement of the 1.5 metre shark we tagged
during my trip. Note the erratic movement, following no particular trend. (SourceGoogle Maps).
This shark was tracked for a total of 3 days, before the storm hit Mosselbaai. 3 days is the
minimum required to generate sufficient data, but I think everyone was quite glad when it
was over, so they could return to normal sleeping patterns!
34
Chapter 6: Aquarium
Oceans Research, alongside carrying out field studies, run a research laboratory/aquarium in
Mosselbaai in order to investigate smaller shark species. The building is kept open to the
public as an aquarium in order to increase funds for the group.
As mentioned, this aquarium holds smaller shark species, but also numerous other species of
sea life, such as octopi, various fish species and cuttlefish. The sharks that were present when
I was working there were small benthic sharks; Leopard sharks (Triakis semifasciata),
Puffadder sharks (Haploblepharus edwardsii) and Pyjama sharks (Poroderma africanum),
and also larger pelagic sharks; Milk sharks (Rhizoprionodon acutus), Smooth hound sharks
(Mustelus sp) and Soupfin sharks (Galeorhinus galeus).
6.1 Benthic and Pelagic Shark Experiments
Two main studies were started with these two types of shark (benthic and pelagic) during my
trip. The experiment with the benthic sharks was to investigate whether, during a storm,
benthic sharks tend to gather together in sheltered areas, such as caves. Preliminary data on
different shark species has suggested that this might be the case. Therefore, 4 sharks of each
species (Leopard, Pyjama and Puffadder) were caught by the aquarium team whilst free
diving (unfortunately, I did not partake; this was carried out in Mosselbaai therefore there
was a chance that Great Whites would be present! So interns were not asked to do this). We
interns then had to build the experimental environment. This involved jumping in the
(freezing cold) tank and moving around huge slabs of rock to form 4 large, equal sized caves
and 4 equal sized smaller caves. This is shown in figure 18 overleaf.
35
Figure 18: Large and smaller caves are shown on the left side of the tank. The same was
done on the right side of the tank.
The sharks were present in the tank when this was being carried out, and it was a rather
strange experience having them slither over your toes; it also made life very difficult if you
were ticklish, as they tended to entwine themselves around your legs as you were carrying
very heavy rocks.
After this was completed, it was the long task of waiting for a storm. The presence of a storm
was dictated by a defined pressure, as measured by a barometer. A camera was attached to
the ceiling with grids sectioning the tank, in order to deduce which cave the sharks were in
during the storm. Preliminary results did suggest a trend towards particular caves, but
unfortunately we were not there long enough to see the entire experiment through.
The experiments being carried out on the pelagic sharks were rather different. One Masters
student was attempting to develop a system whereby the direction of the shark’s tail kicks
could be deduced by using an accelerometer (the same piece of equipment used in an iPhone
to decide which direction it is facing). This would give insights into how the sharks swim
during resting, travelling and hunting. The accelerometer was on a small strap which was
placed behind the shark’s dorsal fin. Obviously, this presents difficulties when working with
great whites, as it is fairly difficult to get a great white still enough to be able to thread a strap
around its belly! But with the smaller sharks, which was used to determine if the equipment
36
would work, it was slightly easier. The sharks were recorded both by video and by the
accelerometer device. We then had to determine the number of full tail flicks in randomly
assigned time points to ensure that the device was working. We did not get to see how they
decided to develop the equipment to be suitable for a great white; however, I look forward to
hearing how they managed it!
6.2 Tagging
When sharks had been used for a particular experiment, they were put back in the ocean (in
the hope that they would continue to survive). Keeping sharks in captivity for extended
periods does pose risks that they will not survive. Also, one particular shark, Campbell, began
to damage his nose extremely badly by rubbing his nose against the wall. He then lost his
sense of smell and did not eat for weeks. It was decided that he was best to be put back in the
sea, but since he could not smell blood, the life expectancy was not long. Personally, I
thought it was extremely irresponsible of the company to not do this sooner; this shark was
essentially an attraction and was not used for any experiments, so as soon as it was noticed he
was harming himself, he should have been replaced. It was generally agreed amongst the
interns that this was very bad practise by Oceans Research and we were very disappointed.
Sharks that were returned to the Ocean were given a small tag to ensure that they were not
caught again. This tag contained an ID number, which was kept for recognition purposes.
Tagging involved making a very small incision below the dorsal fin (to the right side for
females, left side for males) and inserting the tag. This can be seen below in figure 19.
A
37
B
Figure 19: A- Two interns held the very unhappy Campbell whilst a small incision was
made. B- The small tag. The blunting and redness of Campbell’s nose can also be seen
here.
6.3 Other Aquarium Duties
They never failed to find us a job whilst working in the aquarium. Duties included feeding
the sharks (the exact weight of the piece of fish and who ate it was recorded, to ensure no
sharks were over/under fed) using a long arm to direct the fish pieces at individual sharks
(otherwise the greedy fish would eat them before the sharks had a chance). We also had to
feed the anemone’s mussels, which we collected from the rock pools nearby (of course,
mainly you saw us running away from huge waves/falling in and getting soaked).
The octopus also needed feeding live crabs, which we also caught. I hate crabs, and we had to
be on our hands and knees turning rocks over and grabbing crabs as quickly as we could with
nets; disgusting. One spectacular event one day when we were crabbing, was that a local man
came over and asked what we were doing. He immediately jumped off the rock and dove his
arms into a cave, and returned them holding a huge Octopus (which we got to hold; it is very
slimy and very, very strong). He placed the Octopus in a cave where we knew crabs were
hiding, and it forced the crabs out right into our bucket. It was truly a novel way of catching
crabs (I expect the Octopus was pretty annoyed we stole his dinner, however).
38
Chapter 7: Scuba Diving
In my project proposal, I stated that I wished to complete 1-2 scuba dives a week, depending
on free time. I was not given free time in week 1, but had to opportunity to complete four
dives in my remaining weeks. The reasoning for scuba diving was not only to enhance my
scuba diving skills, but also for the opportunity to observe sharks up close in their natural
habitat, but unlike with the great whites, I could swim and interact with them. The dives were
completed in two places, which I will describe individually in the two sections below.
7.1 Durban
Durban is an 18 hour drive from Mosselbaai, situated upon the East coast of South Africa.
This trip was therefore compounded by travelling, necessitating an extra day and a half off of
internship duties for this reason. We were told, however, that the diving is spectacular and
worth the travel. Obviously, travelling across half the country would accrue a rather large fuel
bill, but split between 12 people it did not work out too expensive, and still slightly less than
flying.
The first dive was a morning dive, taking place on a reef a mere 20 minute boat trip from the
coast. The sharks we were told we would hopefully see were Ragged Tooth sharks,
Carcharias taurus (also called Grey Nurse sharks or Sand Tigers). These sharks, although
having a particularly fearsome appearance (see figure 20 below and overleaf), are known to
be fairly docile and attacks on humans are fairly rare, especially unprovoked attacks; only 29
attacks on humans have been recorded, of which 2 were fatal.
A
39
B
Figure 20: A- Sand Tiger shark. (http://aquaviews.net/explore-the-blue/10-commonshark-sightings/).
B-
Sand
Tiger
shark,
demonstrating
its
“ragged”
teeth
(http://photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=2391516).
We were warned that although they are not normally a temperamental species, that they are
still a wild animal and to behave accordingly. Since none of us had ever dove with sharks, we
were given a lesson on the “Do’s and Don’ts”. Obviously, we were informed to never attempt
to touch the animal as this certainly could provoke an attack. We were told to remain vigilant
at all times and, in the instance of a close encounter, to maintain eye contact (see below for
further details). One diver on this trip the year before was, unfortunately, attacked fairly
severely through fault of his own and required hospitalisation, which was enough for all of us
to make sure that we never put ourselves in a potentially dangerous situation.
After the short boat trip to the reef, we could clearly see that the visibility was exceedingly
poor. We were informed that waste dumping had taken place earlier in the morning, which
was unfortunate but unavoidable. Upon entry into the water, the visibility was only around 2
metres. We therefore had to descend on the anchor line as we could not see the reef (around
18 metres deep). This was a fairly terrifying experience as we felt as if we were descending
into a black shark infested abyss (partially correct). Once at the bottom, the visibility was
slightly better. There was a clearing at the centre of the reef which we gathered in our buddy
40
teams. Unfortunately, one individual’s tank came loose and needed to be re-attached, which
delayed our dive exploration slightly; these things happen! Once everyone was intact, we
began to explore the reef. The dive master had a flash light to improve our vision of the area.
The first animal we saw was a large turtle which is always extremely exciting to see as there
are incredibly graceful and generally not afraid of humans. After around 10 minutes of
exploration, we were exceedingly lucky and encountered two Sand Tigers, resting underneath
a reef. Since there was a small patch of reef separating us, we could get fairly close without
disturbing them; approximately two metres away. The sharks were recorded to be around
1.75 metres long. The sharks would approach us with caution, but remain a respectable
distance.
The sharks were not aggressive at all, merely curious. Their appearance certainly did not
match up to their temperament. We could swim around them with caution and it was fantastic
to observe these sharks going about their daily business. The two sharks did not get too close
to each other; generally sharks are solitary animals. It was interesting to see that they did not
seem to be bothered by one another, or by the presence of half a dozen strange creatures in
big black suits taking pictures of them. It is likely that they have encountered many humans
from scuba diving, therefore they are not particularly interested in them.
After around one hour we did not see any more sharks and surfaced.
The next dive took place the same afternoon, after a several hour gap to ensure that any
remaining Nitrogen in our blood has been removed to avoid contracting the bends. This dive
was a baited dive, and required more caution than the previous dive. We were told that we
were likely to encounter at least one species of shark; Blacktip sharks (Carcharhinus
limbatus), but also possibly Bull sharks (Carcharhinus leucas) and Tiger sharks (Galeocerdo
cuvier).
All 3 of these sharks are Requiem sharks, of the family Charcharinidae. This is one of the
largest families of sharks, dominating tropical waters in variety and biomass. These sharks
are mostly epipelagic, inhabiting the area of the sea below the surface which is still
illuminated by sunlight, and therefore capable of photosynthetic activity. Most requiem
sharks are medium sized, reaching between 1-3 metres in length, and are characterised by
round eyes and pectoral fins located behind their 5 gill slits. This family also contains some
of the most dangerous sharks of all shark species; particulary the Bull and Tigers, and are
responsible for a large proportion of human attacks (Compagno, 2001).
41
Bull sharks and Tiger sharks are in the top 5 most dangerous and aggressive shark species in
the world. Bull sharks especially are known to be particularly aggressive, causing a high
number of unprovoked attacks, mainly on surfers. Bull sharks are particularly interesting in
that they can swim in both salt and freshwater, adjusting the urea content in their blood for
this purpose. They have been known to swim up rivers during floods and attack cattle/horses,
and even people, in flooded cities. Bull sharks are particularly territorial and will attack in
their territory, and are known to attack in particularly shallow waters; they often attack
fishermen/waders/swimmers on the coast of America and other countries. Out of the 360
species of shark, only 4 have been extensively involved in the attacks on humans; Bull, Tiger,
Great White and Oceanic Whitetip. It was therefore absolutely necessary to behave
accordingly in order to reduce the likelihood of an attack. But despite these facts, they are
safe to dive with. Although aggressive in their territory, we attracted them using the bait;
therefore they should not behave as territorially. They would also be amongst many other
sharks, further reducing the likelihood of attack since sharks are lone predators and will not
hunt together, generally. Tiger sharks are also particularly “skittish”; generally more afraid of
humans than we think, and do not like to get too close to scuba divers.
We were told that in order to avoid a possible attack from one of these two shark species, it is
necessary to remain dominant at all times. Sharks respond to dominance cues and will
generally never attack an animal that is larger/more dominant than itself. Tigers and Bulls
only reach around 2 metres in this area, and Blacktips are slightly smaller. Therefore,
including our extremely long fins, we were actually around the same size as them. We were
given a lesson on shark behaviour to help us. We were informed that sharks never
spontaneously attack. Larger shark species are not particularly fast in comparison to a lot of
their prey, and therefore will stalk for an extensive period before deciding to attack. Surfers
who say “The shark came out of nowhere” are actually wrong; the shark would have been
stalking them for an extended period prior to the attack, but since they are underwater they
cannot see this. Sharks circle their potential prey before deciding on attacking, and this is the
crucial time for aversion of attacks.
We were told that if a shark was contemplating taking a nip, that it would first gradually get
closer and begin to circle us, i.e. swim around us in circles. During this period, it is essential
to follow the shark’s eye contact and remain in a dominant stance; do not under any
circumstance begin to swim away as they will immediately attack. If they begin to get too
close, we were basically told to “whack them on the nose”. A particularly primitive, yet
42
effective, response. The nose of the shark contains their extra acquired sense area, the
Ampullae of Lorenzini, which enables them to detect the electromagnetic field given off by
other living animals. This is therefore a particularly sensitive area, and will stun the shark if
hit with force. We were told, however, that in the unlikely scenario of a shark is swimming
towards us with its mouth open, to not do this! We were not provided with protective gloves,
but told to tuck our hands under our arms at all times as sharks will go for anything dangling
around them. Absolutely terrified by this lesson, our dive ensued.
As mentioned, this was a baited dive. Therefore a large barrel with holes in it was lowered
into the water, containing chum. This creates a chum slick which would eventually spread for
miles, hopefully attracting many sharks. We were told to stay close to the barrel to enhance
our encounters, but to avoid being upstream or downstream of the chum slick as any
incoming Tigers or Bulls would see us and swim away.
Not being able to see anything from the surface, we jumped into the water and were utterly
astounded as to what we could see.
Immediately, we were surrounded by around 20 very hungry Blacktip sharks. These ranged
from around 0.75-1.5 metres. They were yet again exceedingly curious and not at all
aggressive, despite us basically being in the equivalent of a feeding ground. Although the bait
barrel had chum in it, the sharks could not access the fish directly; this is because this would
cause a feeding frenzy to ensue, increasing the likelihood of an attack.
The sharks would get so close that it was very tempting to touch them, and often they would
flick their fins and whack you with them as they went past. This was an absolutely incredible
experience as it is not often that you will be close enough to a wild shark for it to hit you with
its fin. We were glad of our lesson prior to the dive; the sharks would very often begin to
circle us and sometimes get unnervingly close. At this point, it was possible to nudge them
away with elbows and they would immediately swim off.
43
Although we were somewhat apprehensive about diving with Bulls and Tigers, we did hope
we would encounter them, but alas they did not show up this day, but the 20 or so Blacktips
was more than enough to keep us company for an hour and a half. See figure 21 below for
some photographs taken during the dive.
A
B
44
C
Figure 21: A- Blacktip shark next to bait barrel. The long fish attached to/in close
proximity to the sharks are cleaner fish called Remoras, cleaning the host and feeding
on leftovers. B- Attempting to keep a safe distance from the sharks. C- An up close
photograph of a Blacktip, showing the black pigmentation on the dorsal fins.
As you can hopefully see, these are spectacular creatures, and an absolutely incredible
introduction to shark diving.
Although many divers come to this sport to dive recreationally, the company we dove with
are actually also a small conservation group. Currently, Blacktips are not protected in this
area and therefore may be killed by humans with no consequences; Tigers and Bulls on the
other hand are protected by the South African government. Not satisfied with this current
arrangement, this group aim to achieve protected status within the next couple of years.
In order to achieve this, the group need to provide firm evidence that the local Blacktips are
related and therefore are part of reproducing families. From population studies, around 70
have been recorded and monitored to be based around this particular small coastal area. To
ascertain whether the sharks are related, biopsies are performed, taking a small piece of flesh
from the sharks using a biopsy rod, and then using genetic sequencing onshore to identify
relatedness.
During our dive, we were told to look out for sharks which already have biopsy marks (a very
small, rounded scar just below the dorsal fin); these sharks would not be biopsied again. Any
sharks which did not have a biopsy mark were pointed out to the Dive master, who took a
45
small flesh biopsy for sequencing. We were therefore able to contribute to the ongoing work
that this conservation group is carrying out.
7.2 Cape Town
The second dive trip we took was to Cape Town. Cape Town is situated on the Southern
coast of South Africa, approximately a 3 hour drive from Mosselbaai; significantly closer
than Durban and therefore did not accrue such a large travel bill.
We departed around 2am from Mosselbaai. When we arrived, we spent around an hour
suiting and booting up; we were given 5mm (thick) wetsuits since the water is significantly
colder than in Durban; Durban receives warm currents from the Indian Ocean, whereas Cape
Town faces the colder South Atlantic Ocean. We were also given hoods and gloves for
warmth/protection.
The first dive was for experienced divers only. This is because we were travelling 2 hours
south of Cape Point; the most southerly part of South Africa, into the deep blue ocean.
Therefore, there would be no reefs for orientation/gauging depth. It is therefore common for
divers to experience vertigo. We were also warned of becoming “lost at sea”; again since
there is no reef to use as a reference point, it is simple to drift away by following a shark, and
to become detached from the group. This is obviously extremely dangerous and life
threatening. Keeping in sight of the boat was therefore pivotal to safety, as was maintaining
contact with your dive buddy. Another important point is that, since we were 2 hours from
Cape Point, we were also therefore 2 hours from medical help. Keeping vigilant at all times,
as with the Durban dives, was even more important in this situation.
The sharks we were expecting to see during this dive were Blue sharks (Prionace glauca [a
requiem shark]) and Shortfin mako sharks (Isurus oxyrinchus [a mackerel shark]). Blue sharks
inhabit deep tropical waters, preferring cooler waters; hence this is the ideal spot for seeing
them. Generally a docile species, however, they can swim extremely quickly and are very
agile. They are oceanic sharks, ranging far into the ocean basins. They may reach up to 4
metres when fully grown, and are characterised by an extremely long pectoral fin and a
shimmery blue/silver colouration on their backs. They feed on small fish and squid and have
been known to attack humans. They are mostly known, however, because they are targeted
by humans for consumption and finning (Compagno, 1984).
46
Mako sharks, as mentioned, are mackerel sharks. There are 2 types; the Shortfin and the
Longfin, both belonging to the family Lamnidae. Mako’s are also found in tropical waters,
but also temperate, and are again pelagic. The average size of an adult Mako is around 3
metres, and they are characterised by a bluntly pointed snout and large black eyes. The
Shortfin mako shark is the fastest swimming shark; they may attain speeds of up to 20mph.
This speed, combined with their power and aggressive temperament, make them a danger to
humans, being involved in a number of non-fatal and fatal attacks (Passarelli et al.).
We set off on our 2 hour boat trip (in an extremely uncomfortable motorised dinghy) around
6am and were exceedingly lucky to encounter 2 migrating humpback whales, which we were
able to follow for around 15 minutes before eventually they submerged fully and we lost
them. Upon arrival at the “spot” (deduced to be where the water was slightly more turquoise,
however, we failed to see this apparent change in colouration!). We were briefed and they
dropped the chum barrel in. Around 1 hour later (it takes time for the chum slick to travel far
enough to attract sharks that may be miles away), numerous silver slivers started to appear
around the boat. We jumped in and were again surrounded by an incredibly beautiful sight.
Around 15 Blue sharks were happily sniffing around the chum.
These sharks were mostly babies, and most likely all from one or two families since Blue
sharks produce high numbers of infants. They were incredibly friendly and curious, more so
than the Blacktips. They were also extremely mischievous and would often double- or tripleteam you. Whilst one was nibbling on your suit zipper and another on your fin, a third would
come and nip on your goggles or depth gauge. Far from the aggressive and dangerous picture
many websites have pained. We nicknamed them the “Puppies of the sea” after this dive,
because that is just how they behaved. Playful and curious, nibbling on anything they could
find. Obviously, since they have large teeth, this would be a problem if we were not suited up
fully as some did take slightly harder bites on our hands when we were not paying attention.
But this was truly an experience like no other. They would swim through your legs and you
could somersault around them, tickling their beautiful rainbow backs or soft bellies. It was
one and a half hours of paradise.
Around 1 hour into the dive, a seal arrived; it seemed out of nowhere, and enjoyed also
somersaulting around us and playing with us, which was also much fun. Suddenly, something
silver darted into appearance, and then shot off again before we could even blink. Confused,
and slightly terrified, the dive team looked around and scratched their heads. Around 5
minutes later, I turned around and was faced, around 5 inches from my mask, with a very
47
large teethy grin. It was a Shortfin mako. Started/terrified, I made a squeal through my
regulator which seemed to scare him off, and he darted back into the blue. Several more of
these surprise appearances from this cheeky shark occurred over the next 20 minutes,
successfully terrifying each and every one of us, before it disappeared. This was very exciting
but at the same time, nerve wracking to say the least... You really could gauge how fast they
were, and the true power of these sharks.
These photographs shown in figure 22 below and overleaf were taken from this dive.
A
B
48
C
D
49
E
Figure 22: A-D Diving and playing with friendly Blue sharks. E- The frightening brief
appearance of the Mako.
The second dive in Cape Town was only done by myself and one other person since it was a
very cold dive in a kelp bed, which put most people off. I, however, found this an extremely
exhilarating thought. The water was around 15 degrees, in comparison to around 19 degrees
in the Blue shark dive. Kelp beds, shown in figure 23 below, have a similar appearance to
what you would expect the prehistoric world to look like.
Figure 23: Kelp beds, with the kelp plants reaching around 10 metres in height.
50
It was very different to any dive I had ever done, you constantly had to weave in between
these monstrous plants, which would often tangle around your fins and deceive you into
thinking some large shark is tugging on you.
The sharks we were told to expect to see on this dive were Cow sharks (or Sevengills)
(Hexanchus griseus). These sharks are therefore characterised by having an extra set of gill
slits (seven in total), and a very rounded snout, resembling a cow’s nose. These sharks are the
most primitive of all sharks, containing few modern adaptations and skeletons resembling
ancient sharks. They are also one of the larger shark species, growing up to 5.5 metres in
length (Froese et al., 2011). We were also told to expect to see numerous benthic sharks,
since this was a shore dive.
After jumping in and acclimatising to the freezing water, we submerged and got used to the
strong current and the large kelp plants. After only around 10 minutes, we reached the “hot
spot” for the Cow sharks, and that was certainly an understatement. We saw at least 20
different Cow sharks, which was impressive since we were not using bait. They would swim
extremely close to us, and you could see their distinctive, and certainly primitive, appearance.
In fact, they looked very much like how you would envisage sharks if there were sharks in
Jurassic Park (“Dinosauric” was a term we coined for them).
The sharks were again fairly curious, but tended to ignore you go about their jolly way. They
were very slow moving and graceful, moving almost like sea snakes.
See the images below and overleaf in figure 24 for pictures taken during the dive.
51
Figure 24: Cow sharks from the Cape Town dive, showing the characteristic rounded
snout and extra set of gills.
Other species of shark we encountered were Pyjama jacket sharks, Puffadder sharks and
Leopard sharks; all benthic sharks, spending most of their time darting between small rock
caves.
If you are interested in watching a You Tube video that a friend on the trip made of the
Blue/Mako and Sevengill dives I went on, this is the link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDFkQlK27QA&feature=plcp
(I am the one with the pink tipped snorkel and pale pink/white fins!). The title of the video is:
Cape Town Blue and Mako Dive and Sevengill shark dive to help you find it.
52
Chapter 8: Cetacean Population and Behaviour Studies
Alongside researching Great White Sharks, Oceans Research also conduct studies on
cetaceans (carnivorous, placental marine mammals) within Mosselbaai, which includes
dolphins, whales and porpoises. Cetaceans all possess a blow hole, a horizontal tail fluke
(unlike fish, which possess a vertical tail), and produce live young.
This work included land based observational studies of free swimming whales and dolphins,
recording numbers and behaviour. This is to contribute to knowledge of the cetacean
populations of this area of South Africa, which was largely unknown until Oceans Research
began their work. Although direct estimation of numbers through this observational technique
is not possible, it can be used to approximate patterns of abundance throughout the year.
Another part of their research is to investigate the effects of the large desalination plant
located in Mosselbaai on behaviour and movement of dolphins, in particular humpback
dolphins.
Numerous cetaceans have been found frequently in Mosselbaai; Humpback dolphins,
Bottlenose dolphins, Oceanic dolphins, Southern Right whales, Humpback whales, Bryde’s
whales and Orcas. These all have distinctive features which are used in identification. For
example, when identifying dolphins, humpback dolphins are a paler colour than Bottlenose
and Oceanic dolphins, and possess a distinctive small dorsal fin on top of a hump on their
back.
When identifying whales, it can become more difficult since they will only surface for a very
short amount of time. Of course, if the whale breaches the water, this becomes a lot easier;
however, this is a fairly rare occurrence. Therefore, in order to identify different whale
species during cetacean studies, we were taught to use their blow (see figure 25 overleaf).
Each of these whales has a distinctive blow which can be used to discriminate between them.
Southern Right whales have a V shaped blow, and do not possess a dorsal fin. They also have
distinctive paddle shaped flippers, and are typically around 15 metres long, weighing around
20-30 tons. Bryde’s whales on the other hand, do possess a small dorsal fin, but their blow is
a tall narrow column. They reach approximately the same size as Southern Right whales.
Humpback whales create a small, bushy blow, and have a distinctive hump shaped back and
long pectoral flippers.
53
A
B
C
Figure
25:
A-
Tall
blow
from
a
Bryde’s
whale
(http://archive.iwcoffice.org/conservation/lives.htm). B- Distinctive V shaped blow from
a Southern Right (http://www.dennisbuurman.co.nz/gallery/southern-right-whales/). CShort
bushy
blow
from
a
Humpback
whale
(http://www.thetravelingrichters.com/2010/02/14/another-humpback-whale).
This identification technique is useful, but obviously has limitations; the shape of the blow
can often only be deduced when the animal is either swimming directly towards or away
from us; usually the animals migrate along the bay. Therefore, it is necessary to use other
features such as the possession of a dorsal fin, etc.
In Mosselbaai, 5 sites were chosen for the cetacean land based project. Four sites were visited
per day in order to ascertain approximate numbers of migrating cetaceans, and also to
monitor their behaviour. Sites were visited for approximately two hours each, requiring 3
interns for each 5 hour shift. At each site, recordings were taken every 30 minutes. This
54
involved 2 interns scanning the ocean, one from left to right, and the other vice versa, using
binoculars. Alongside recording any sightings of cetaceans, environmental were also
recorded. This included cloud cover, wind speed and visual disturbances; rough sea due to
strong wind produces “white caps”, which are small peaks where waves break on the surface,
which may cause false sightings. Obviously, if any cetaceans were seen outside the bi hourly
scans, this would be recorded. During sightings, the animals would be tracked until they
could no longer be seen. This involved using a very expensive piece of equipment which can
record the precise location (latitude, longitude) of the animals at a particular time, from the
shore.
Unfortunately, during every single cetacean trip I went on, I did not see a single dolphin or
whale! For a one month stint, this was extremely unusual. Hundreds of dolphin and usually
some whales can be observed. We did, however, observe many dolphins during chumming
trips; the approximate numbers and behaviours of which were passed back onto the cetacean
experts at the end of the trips.
During one chumming trip, we were extremely lucky and observed a school of well over 100
dolphins migrating past our boat. These were deduced to be Bottlenose dolphins from the
shape of their dorsal fin (see figure 26 overleaf). We initially thought they were travelling;
however, the dolphins began to gather in one patch of the ocean, relatively near the shore. We
then observed them bubble netting; a form of predation, where they begin to rapidly swim in
circles around schools of fish, blowing bubbles to confuse and encase the fish in a small area,
where the dolphins will then nip in and feed on the startled fish. Figure below shows some of
this large school of dolphins shortly before they began their predation.
55
Figure 26: Bottlenose dolphins in Mosselbaai, showing the characteristic high, sickle
shaped dorsal fin.
This is fairly rare to see and we were extremely lucky to observe this dolphin predation, and
witness the skills these dolphins possess in order to hunt their prey.
8.1 Vleesbaai
Vleesbaai is another bay close to Mosselbaai, and four interns are selected each month to visit
this bay for 2 days to conduct further cetacean studies. This ties in with the Mosselbaai
studies because Vleesbaai does not have the desalination plant, and also does not have
another seal island; therefore it is interesting to compare the populations and behaviour of
cetaceans in these two contrasting areas. A local man owns several cottages in this area, with
the aim of conserving the natural habitat by not encouraging large numbers of tourists to visit
this area. He allows Oceans Research to use one of his cottages for one weekend a month in
order to carry out these surveys.
56
I was lucky enough to be selected for this trip, which took up the second weekend of my visit.
The same techniques were applied to Vleesbaai as were used in the cetacean surveys in
Mosselbaai; 5 sites were also used across the bay (see figure 27 below).
After the disappointing cetacean trips in Mosselbaai, we had high hopes that we would
observe at least some animals here! Lucky, for the first time, we spotted some cetacean
action. During the first day, we saw a travelling mother and her calf humpback. They were
deduced to be travelling since they did not display any distinctive behaviour, such as bubble
netting. We also saw a whale, which took a long time to identify. It was travelling along the
bay, therefore we could not tell if its blow was V shaped or not. Due to its general shape, it
was deduced that it had to be either a Southern Right, or a Bryde’s whale; the blow was not
bushy enough to be a Humpback. It was travelling fairly fast; we followed it across the bay
for almost half an hour. Finally, the whale breached the water ever so slightly, and revealed a
dorsal fin; Bryde’s whales, not Southern Right, possess a dorsal fin, and the whale was finally
identified.
On the second day, we saw another Bryde’s whale, a school of Humpback dolphins and a trip
of Bottlenose dolphins. It is usual for dolphins to travel in three’s; usually a mother, calf and
a satellite dolphin are present; the satellite dolphin swims slightly away from the mother and
calf and observes any potential dangers/food sources.
Figure 27: The idyllic and serene Vleesbaai. The stretch of ocean visible from each site
was very large to maximise the possibility of seeing any cetaceans.
57
Chapter 9: Critique of Oceans Research
Oceans research has, demonstrably, contributed a fantastic wealth of knowledge on Great
White sharks, not only to the scientific community, but also to people outside of this area;
locals, sceptics, politicians. It is this knowledge that is absolutely pivotal to the vital
conservation of this endangered species. They continue to fight hard for this animal, but they
have a long way to go. Australia has set out movements for a cull of Great Whites found in
areas where humans enter the water next year. It is my hope that enough people can be
convinced, by groups like this, and people like me, that we are invading their home, and it is
not right to kill them. Oceans Research do not approach taboo subjects like this with emotion,
but scientifically, and I think this attitude is key to their success. In the face of protests and
vicious media attacks, Oceans Research maintain their dignity in the field in which they
work, and their determination to change the views of these animals cannot be undermined.
I cannot, therefore, fault the contribution to the scientific community, and even to attempting
to change worldwide prejudices, that Oceans Research bequeath. But do I think the volunteer
programme is perfect? That is another story entirely. Being a non-profit organisation, it is
exceedingly difficult to fund expensive scientific expeditions and on-going research. This is
where the volunteers step in. I think it is a fantastic idea to hit two birds with one stone; gain
a steady income to continue with the vital research, and provide a brilliant opportunity for
aspiring marine scientists to gain valuable and novel experience in such a rare, trivial field.
But here is where we run into some difficulties. Volunteers spend around £1,000 for the
privilege of their experience alone, plus flights, plus other expenses. This immediately creates
an inequality; research is expensive and demanding, but should it only be available to those
who can afford to splash out thousands of pounds of cash? Some would say it is a privilege to
be able to do this, and I certainly agree. I do, however, think that the sum of money given to
the company is, frankly, absurd. I struggle to spend that much in a month in the UK, let alone
bunking in a squashed room and being fed chicken feed. But I think this is something all
volunteer abroad programmes have cottoned onto; appealing to gap year kids who will gladly
splash the cash they earned all summer. So this is nothing new, and arguably it is not immoral
to be able to charge large sums for the privilege of doing something that not many would
have the opportunity to do, and they don’t have to allow students to join them; the students
want to go, so the company charges. It’s simple business.
58
But, where is the money going? South Africa is, in comparison to England, very cheap to live
in. Included in the sum of money paid, £3.50 goes to each meal. Now, this may not sound
like a lot, but when this £3.50 includes a bowl of stale cornflakes with warm milk left out all
night, a single sad looking sandwich at lunch, and a bowl of mystery meat and rice for dinner,
you do wonder whether you’re getting what you pay for. But again, arguably this is all part of
the experience, and although several people (including myself) became very ill from,
undeniably, the disgusting food and could not work for several days, we did end up laughing
about this.
But then other things start to crop up; the boats were hardly in a good condition, often
breaking down, impeding days of work. The cars were very old and falling apart. So where is
all the money going? Gasoline to run the boats is relatively cheap in Africa, we did not have
to drive long distances so fuel in the cars was not an issue, the chum was unwanted cuts of
fish bought very cheap from local fishermen, the food was cheap, and activities did not seem
that expensive. In comparison to, for example, molecular research where singular reagents
can cost thousands, short boat trips to chuck some stinky fish blood into the water and take
photographs of sharks, seem relatively inexpensive. I therefore think that the leaders of
Oceans Research are profiting quite nicely for their scheme, thinking only about their wallets
when taking volunteers, rather than, perhaps, the experience which they themselves are so
keen to push onto applying volunteers.
Oceans Research aim to take 25 volunteers a month; that’s over £25,000 per month. Their
overheads would certainly come nowhere near that astronomical figure since field experts are
also there voluntarily, and as mentioned; the research activities are not that costly. I also fear
that, with that many volunteers, many will be left without jobs to do, and feel that they are
not able to make the most of their time, and certainly are not getting value for their money.
Even with only 13 volunteers the month I was there, generally there was at least one person
in the activity who was left without a job. I think that 25 is far too many and that Oceans
Research only have green dollar symbols in their eyes whilst thinking that this is an
appropriate number, and that satisfaction of volunteers will drop dramatically once they start
receiving this many, as there just won’t be enough for everyone to do. We all also felt that,
although it was necessary to the project, spending hours on end plugging in coordinates into
the computer because the Masters’ students, whose data it actually was, could not be bothered
to do it, was a bit of a waste of our time!
59
I therefore think that, although I cannot fault what Oceans Research contribute, and the
experience I had was one that I cannot and would never regret and was completely worth the
money, there is certainly some questions that need answering about exactly where the money
volunteers is paying goes. A contribution to the research project is stated when applying; but
is this to a nice BMW for the head researchers, or is it going into a bank account to buy better
research equipment?
60
Summary
This project aimed to spend one month contributing to research activities with the group
Oceans Research, based in Mosselbaai, South Africa. Research activities carried out during
this one month stay included chumming, data collection, photographic identification of
sharks, tagging and tracking of sharks, assistance in the shark laboratory, and cetacean
behavioural and population on-going studies.
During the duration of this project, I assisted with setting up an experiment in the shark
laboratory, set out to investigate whether benthic sharks (such as leopard sharks) group
together during storms. I also assisted the team in tagging their first 1.5metre juvenile shark,
which was successfully tracked around the bay for a total of three days, which gave an insight
into the movement and behaviour patterns of a shark this size, which was previously
unknown. The cetacean studies were largely unsuccessful due to minimal sightings of both
whales and dolphins; however during the trip to Vleesbaai we saw two whales and two
different groups of humpback dolphins. I also carried out 4 scuba dives, diving with Mako
sharks, Blue sharks, Cow sharks, Blacktip sharks and Ragged tooth sharks, which helped
improve my confidence as a scuba diver.
I believe that Oceans Research are a valuable contribution to this area of both scientific study
and conservation, and that their work is critical to the sensible management of both Great
White sharks, and various cetacean species. I do, however, believe that the volunteer
programme could be better managed; despite being equipped with a large team, it sometimes
seemed disorganised, and I think that too many volunteers are recruited monthly, meaning
that not enough activities are available, which could sometimes drag the experience down.
61
Personal Reflection
During my stay in Mosselbaai, I experienced things that many people only ever dream about
being possible. The Lord Rootes memorial fund opened so many doors for me, and enabled
me to have opportunity to do something I have longed to do for so many years. Without this
trip, I feel I’d still be stuck in a rut with a burning desire to get out and explore the sea,
something which I could have never done off my own back due to financial constraints.
Achieving this funding has really boosted my confidence in my own abilities, and has
showed me that when I put my mind to it, I can achieve anything; I think this is exactly what
the fund is about. I came back from Africa with a totally different outlook on life; a more
positive and aspiring one, always thinking “Just do it!”. I can only encourage other students
to do what I, and other successful candidates, have done, and just go out there and do what
you want to do, because if you don’t; you’ll regret it.
My advice to other potential candidates is; don’t go in to that frightening looking panel
(sorry!) with a negative attitude; let your positivity and determination shine through, because
this is what will get you what want. Make sure you have done your homework and be ready
to talk, not just about the what, but more importantly the why; why have you chosen this
project, why is it important to you, and why do you think it will benefit you as a person? If
you don’t know the answers to these questions, then perhaps you need to have a re-think
about exactly why you are applying. If this is important to you, you’ll know the answers from
the offset.
I cannot thank the committee enough for choosing my project; the memories, experiences and
passion I acquired during my trip will undoubtedly last a lifetime. Lord Rootes memorial
fund has enabled so many students to achieve their dreams, and I think is one of the most
fantastic, worthwhile scholarships around and I cannot express just how grateful I am for
what it has given me. Thank you.
62
Appendix
Budget
Original budget plan:
Deposit for accommodation- £303.86. Paid in full by me prior to applying for LRMF. Extra
excursions, night time activity, souvenirs= ~£200 self-funded. Extra diving- 1-2 dives/week
at approximately £50/dive= £300. Remaining accommodation fee, food and airport transfer =
£911.59. Flight to George, South Africa- £877. Travel Insurance (Virgin)- £19.90
Total requested from Lord Rootes memorial Fund- £2098.49
Actual expenditure:
All prices converted from ZAR (South African Rand) were calculated from the exchange rate
at that time; 12.35 ZAR to £1.
Insurance from Virgin; £55.15.
Remaining accommodation fee, food and airport transfer; (R11250.00) £911.00
Flight: £711.38 (returned 1 day early and flight was almost £200 cheaper).
Scuba Diving (cost of equipment hire, petrol and vehicle rental, and boat fuel all included);
Cape Town dives (R3713.38) £300.67, Durban dives (R3035.76) £245.81 = £546.48
Total expenditure: £2,224.01, £125.52 over budget.
Reasoning for over expenditure; insurance was increased due to dangerous activities
undertaken which I did not take into consideration when applying. Scuba diving was more
than stated originally by Oceans Research due to them not updating their prices from
previous years, and also because so many volunteers wanted to go, we had to hire the larger
(12 person) vehicle which cost more. I did, however, choose an earlier flight to bring the
costs down by almost £200 as stated above.
63
References
Information used from websites has been referenced; any other information not referenced
was sourced during my stay, for example from talks given by researchers.
Compagno, L. J. V. (2001). Sharks of the World. An Illustrated Catalogue of Shark Species
Known to Date. [Online]. Volume 2; Bullhead, mackerel and carpet sharks. Food and
Agriculture
Organization
of
the
United
Nations.
Rome.
(URL
ftp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/009/x9293e/x9293e00.pdf). (Accessed 28.10.12).
Compagno, L.J.V. (2010). Family Carcharhinidae - Requiem sharks in Froese, R. and D.
Pauly. FishBase. [Online]. World Wide Web electronic publication, version (05/2010). (URL
ftp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/009/ad123e/AD123e24.pdf) (Retrieved 18.10.12).
Fergusson, I., Compagno, L.J.V. and Marks, M. (2009). Carcharodon carcharias. IUCN Red
List
of
Threatened
Species.
Version
2012.2.
[Online].
(URL
http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/3855/0). (Retrieved 13.11.12).
Froese, Rainer, and Pauly, eds. (2009). "Lamniformes" in FishBase. [Online]. January 2009
version.
(Accessed
27.10.12).
(URL
http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/OrdersSummary.php?order=Lamniformes).
Grzimek’s Animal Life Encyclopedia. Lamniformes (Mackerel Sharks). [Online]. (URL
http://www.gale.cengage.com/pdf/samples/sp66572X.pdf).
4.
pp131-137.
(Accessed
12.11.12).
Passarelli, N., Knickle, C., and DiVittorio, K. Shortfin Mako. Florida Museum of Natural
History.
[Online].
(URL
http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/gallery/descript/shortfinmako/shortfinmako.html)
26.10.12).
64
(Accessed